Various urological medical devices have been developed for implantation or insertion into patients. As an example, polymeric ureteral stents are widely used to facilitate drainage in the upper urinary tract (e.g., drainage from the kidney to the bladder). They are used, for example, in post endo-urological procedures to act as a scaffold in the event of ureteral obstruction secondary to the procedure. Ureteral stents are also used as palliative devices to provide patency in the presence of congenital defects, strictures or malignancies, as well as in other instances where ureteral obstruction may occur. A schematic illustration of a ureteral stent 10 in accordance with the prior art is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The stent 10 has a proximal end 10p and a distal end 10d. It is a tubular polymeric extrusion having a shaft 12, a distal renal retention structure (e.g., renal coil or “pigtail” 14), and a proximal retention structure (e.g., bladder coil or “pigtail” 16). These retention structures prevent upward migration of the stent toward the kidney or downward migration of the stent toward the bladder. The shaft 12 in cross-section is a single extruded layer as seen from FIG. 1B, which is taken along line b-b of FIG. 1A. Once properly deployed in the ureter, the stent 10 provides ureteral rigidity and allows the passage of urine. The stent 10 of FIGS. 1A and 1B is further provided with the following features: (a) a tapered tip 11, to aid insertion, (b) a central lumen 10c, (c) multiple side ports 18 (one numbered), which are arranged in a spiral pattern down the length of the body to promote drainage, (d) graduation marks 25 (one illustrated) for visualization by the physician to know when the appropriate length of stent has been inserted into the ureter, and (e) a suture 22, which aids in positioning and withdrawal of the stent. During placement, such ureteral stents 10 are typically placed over a urology guide wire, through a cystoscope and advanced into position. Once the distal end of the stent is advanced into the kidney/renal calyx, the guide wire is removed, allowing the coils 14, 16 to form in the kidney 19 and bladder 20, as shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the stent 10 extends through the ureteral orifice 21a and into the bladder 20. For clarity, the ureter entering bladder 20 through the opposite ureteral orifice 21b is not shown.